With everyone back at work after the long weekend, it may be a good time to revisit your working style to try and increase productivity at work.
While all of us have our to-do lists, goals and deadlines, many assume that working longer hours and forgoing weekends may be the solution for tackling a heavier workload. On the contrary, it might be simpler and more efficient to incorporate a few strategies to improve productivity and in turn, complete tasks successfully.
10 Tips for Increasing Productivity at Work
1. Don’t multitask
While many claim multitasking as a special ability, it might actually be deterring you from getting tasks done efficiently. Experts say that it is better to focus on one task in its entirety than doing multiple things at the same time and not being able to give your 100 percent to each.
2. Give yourself a deadline
Tasks that are open-ended tend to be pushed back on the priority list and might be forgotten until someone asks for it. Hence, it might be beneficial to give yourself a deadline for those tasks to increase your focus and productivity.
3. Set a timer
While you may believe that you manage time efficiently, a timer may actually prove you wrong. It may make sense to set a timer and track the time spent on each activity at home and work, and it may be shocking to learn how much time you waste on social media every morning when you could actually get to work a few minutes earlier.
4. Utilize your commute
Whether you drive to work or take the train, you could utilize the time to organize your day in your mind or on a piece of paper. While the morning commute may be best for checking emails or brainstorming with yourself to set a game plan for the day, the evening commute could be used for planning the next day so that you get to spend the evening with your family, rather than worrying about work.
5. Split your work into one-and-a-half-hour sessions:
A research conducted at the Florida State University concluded that successful professionals from different walks of life performed their best when they split their work into 90-minute intervals.
6. Don’t forget your breaks
Studies show that a task, especially a long one, is done better when interspersed with short breaks. These breaks may help maintain consistency while taking zero breaks might cause a decline in performance.
7. Try to reduce interruptions
If you have an important, time-bound project to complete, make sure you reduce interruptions like phone notifications, friendly colleagues who drop by for long chat sessions, etc. It might help to keep your cabin door shut, switch your hours to be at work earlier than usual or work from home, if possible.
8. Focus on efficiency, not perfection
Perfection is an illusion because the idea of perfection varies from person to person; something that’s perfect for you might not even be halfway there for someone else. Hence, it is recommended to focus on completing a task as efficiently as possible rather than to spend extra time trying to make it perfect.
9. Learn the 2-minute rule
Experts say that if a task looks like it can be done in two minutes or less, it should be completed immediately. Postponing it just because it is a small task usually increases the time needed to complete it.
10. Organize your desk/cabin
Being organized is one of the keys to being successful, so declutter your desk/cabin, display only the things that you use every day, keep everything else away but accessible, place a plant to add a touch of green and boost positivity and display items like family photographs or motivational words to keep you going even through tough days.
If you’ve been finding it hard to stay focused and be productive at work, try to incorporate a few of these tips and notice how things fall into place, with increased efficiency, higher productivity and an overall satisfactory work experience.
References
Mindbodygreen. (2017, August 09). 11 Hacks For Your Most Productive Workday, Every Day. Retrieved from https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/hacks-for-a-productive-workplace
Rampton, J. (2015, February 04). 15 Ways to Increase Productivity at Work. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/15-ways-to-increase-productivity-at-work.html
